Surface for controlling liquids

ABSTRACT

A liquid controlling surface, comprising a formation comprising a plurality of individual open topped, closed bottomed cells for containing liquid with each of the cells having a cell wall integral with the closed bottom and defining a well. Each of the cell walls have a top edge. The surface also includes a plurality of distribution channels extending between adjacent cells and being positioned on the cell wall at a height to permit liquid to drain to the adjacent cell when a cell liquid level exceeds a predetermined limit and to permit liquid to be retained in the well up to the limit. At least some of the cell walls are sized and shaped to define contact areas at the top edges to support an object above the limit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/152,522 filed on Jun. 3, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/256,699 filed on Oct. 24, 2005, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,976,929, and which claims priority to Canadian Patent ApplicationNo. 2,485,802 filed on Oct. 22, 2004, the entire contents of which areall incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of liquid spill control. Moreparticularly, the invention pertains to surfaces for liquid spillcontrol.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are a number of different applications in which surface mats maybe used for the control of liquids. These applications include carsurface mats for controlling slush, snow, and water falling from theshoes and boots of drivers and passengers. Such liquid controllingsurfaces may also be used as platforms for storing wet shoes and bootsat house and office entrances. Such surfaces may also be used to controlwater falling from a person who has just exited a bath or shower.

There have been previous attempts to manage liquid spills using mats.For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,583 (“Peyton”) discloses a surface matsystem. In the Peyton surface mat, a plurality of rectangular cells areformed, with each cell having a drain hole 14. The drain holes 14 areformed in a continuous web, which web overlies a hollow portionsupported by a plurality of pillars 36. Liquid contacting the mat goesthrough the drain holes into the hollow portion. There are a number ofproblems with the Peyton design. First, the Peyton design requires acomplex two-layer structure, complete with cells, a lower hollowportion, and pillars to maintain the structural integrity of the mat.Without the complex series of pillars, the mat would be crushed orbroken by a heavy weight placed upon it, and the water would squirt outthrough the drain holes. Second, the area of the mat between the cells,where a person's pant leg or shoe might rest, contains a substantialamount of flat surface area on which liquid can collect, thusundesirably coming into contact with clothing.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,246,982 (“Pretnick”) discloses a mat having a pluralityof ribs that define rectangular chambers. A center tray section ispositioned between the two sets of rectangular chambers. As shown inFIG. 7, the inner sides of the sets of chambers 12 and 14 are providedwith drain holes 61 to provide drainage of drippings into the center ofthe tray and then out through a garden hose drain attachment at 32. Thisconfiguration is complex to manufacture, in that it requires manufactureof separate tray and rib sections. Furthermore, this configuration alsopresents a substantial surface area that can easily come in contactwith, and undesirably transfer liquid to, objects such as shoes orclothing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, what is desired is a liquid controlling surface that iseffective in controlling spills and that can be simply constructed.Preferably, the surface will be configured to distribute liquid from thepoint of origin of a spill to other portions of the surface while stillcontrolling the liquid. Preferably, the liquid-controlling surface isconfigured to reduce the likelihood of liquid being transferred from thesurface to an object resting thereon.

Therefore, there is provided a liquid controlling surface comprising:

a formation comprising a plurality of individual open topped, closedbottomed cells for containing liquid, each of said cells having a cellwall defining a well;

a plurality of distribution channels extending between adjacent cellsand being positioned on the cell wall at a height to permit liquid todrain to the adjacent cell when a cell liquid level exceeds apredetermined limit and to permit liquid to be retained in said well upto said limit; and

a perimeter wall surrounding said cells and having a height higher thansaid distribution channels to prevent liquid from leaking from saidcells to an area outside the perimeter wall.

Optionally, each distribution channel is configured so as to prevent anobject resting on top of the internal cell wall from contacting liquidin the cells or the distribution channel. Preferably, to create asurface that minimizes the transference of liquid when contacted, theinternal cell walls are tapered towards their tops so as to reduce thepotential contact area between the surface and an object restingthereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the drawings,which illustrate the referred embodiment of the invention, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the surface;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the surface;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the surface;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the surface;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the surface;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a single cell of the surface shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is across-sectional elevation view taken along line 7-7 of FIG.1;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a single cell of the surface shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional elevation view taken along line 9-9 of FIG.2;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a single cell of the surface shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional elevation view along line 11-11 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional elevation view, similar to that of FIG. 11,of a cell having a generally circular convex contact surface;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a single cell of the surface of FIG. 5;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional elevation view along line 14-14 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the surface thatincludes a reservoir; and

FIG. 16 is an exploded view of the surface of FIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring first to FIGS. 2, 8, and 9, a liquid controlling surface 10according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown. Thesurface 10 comprises a perimeter wall 12 for preventing liquid containedin the surface 10 from leaking to an area outside the wall 12. Theperimeter wall 12 surrounds a formation 14 comprising a plurality ofindividual cells 16 for containing liquid. Each cell 16 comprises a cellwall 18, which may comprise one or more wall sections 20. In thepreferred embodiment, each cell includes a well 22 to hold the liquid,and the well 22 is defined by, and preferably surrounded by, the wall18.

Preferably, the cells 16 are generally rectangular in plan view (i.e.when viewed from above the surface) open topped and closed bottomed. Itwill be appreciated that such an open topped cell shape is preferred,because it facilitates the manufacture of surfaces 10 in, for example, aconvenient rectangular shape. However, the invention comprehends othershapes for the cells 16, as described in more detail below. What isrequired is for each cell to comprise a well to contain a volume ofliquid within the cell.

The surface further includes a plurality of distribution channels 24between the wells of adjacent cells. In the most preferred embodimentthere is a distribution channel 24 connecting each cell 16 to eachadjacent cell 16, but less could be used without departing from thescope of the present invention. Each distribution channel 24 ispositioned on the internal cell wall 18 at a height so as to channelliquid to the adjacent cell 16 when a cell liquid level exceeds apredetermined limit. It will be appreciated that, preferably, this limitis determined by the height of the channel 24 on the wall 18, relativeto the bottom of the well of the cell. When the liquid level within awell 22 reaches the height of the channels 24, any additional liquidwill be channelled to an adjacent cell 16 through gravity. The higherthe channel 24 on the wall 18, the higher the limit, and the more liquidcan be held within the well 22 before additional liquid is channelled orpermitted to drain to an adjacent cell 16.

Preferably, the perimeter wall 12 will have a height higher than that ofthe channels 24 to prevent liquid from leaking from the cells 16 to anarea outside the perimeter wall 12. Also, preferably, this will preventliquid from moving onto the top of the perimeter wall 12 itself, thuslessening the probability that an object (e.g. a shoe of a user), willhave liquid transferred onto it from the top of the perimeter wall 12.

In the preferred embodiment, the channels 24 are arcuate depressions inthe walls 18, open to the top of the surface 10. However, it will beappreciated that the channels 24 can take other forms. For example, thechannels could take the form of the holes in the walls 18, wherein thehole is surrounded entirely by the wall 18, and is not open to the topof the surface 10. As another example, the channels 24 can be squared,or V-shaped. Other shapes are also comprehended by the invention. Theuse of channels 24 that are arcuate depressions in the walls 18 ispreferred because such channels 24 are relatively simple to create in arubber moulding process that can be used to manufacture the surface 10.

Preferably, the channels 24 are configured so as to prevent an objectresting on the walls 18 from contacting liquid in the cells 16 orchannels 24. It will be appreciated that one preferred feature of thesurface is to control spilled liquid while preventing the liquid, to theextent possible, from being tracked around, and from wetting the shoesand/or clothing of someone contacting the surface. The preferred surfacereduces the likelihood of this outcome by preventing an object fromcontacting the liquid in the well 22 or channels 24.

In the preferred form of the invention the channels limit the level ofliquid which can be retained in the wells 22 to a level below the topsof the cell walls. The exact height of the channels 24 will vary,depending upon the application in which the surface of the presentinvention is being used. For example, for a surface comprised of aflexible material which has to carry a heavy load, the liquid level maybe set quite low, at or about one third of the height of the cell wall.In other applications, where the cell wall is more rigid or the load islighter, the liquid level of the cell can be higher, up to about 80% ofthe cell wall height. Even higher liquid levels can be used, but therisks of not being able to prevent contact between the liquid and anobject resting upon the liquid are higher so these higher levels aregenerally less preferred. In summary, a preferred range for the heightof the channels is between 20% to 80% of the total cell wall height,with between 40% and 60% being the most preferred range of heights.

It will be also understood that another factor influencing the preferredheight of the drainage channels is the type of liquids spills that thesurface is intended to encounter. If the drainage channels are lower,then spills can more quickly disperse through the correspondingly largersized drainage channels. Conversely higher walls, while permitting eachwell to retain a larger volume of fluid will take longer to disperse thefluid across the adjoining cells.

It will be appreciated that the surface 10 can take various forms andstill be comprehended by the invention. The surface 10 may take aconventional form, namely, a one-piece surface-covering element.However, for example, the surface 10 may have a multi-piece, modularconstruction. In this configuration, surface elements can bemanufactured, and multiple elements connected together to build matswhose size and shape can be varied according to the circumstances inwhich the surface 10 will be employed. As another example, the surface10 can be used in association with modular flooring and the like. Inmodular flooring, the floor in a location is built in modules and themodules are laid down adjacent to one another to form the floor. Theinvention comprehends the surface 10 taking the form of a floor module.In this application, the floor module consisting of the surface 10 canbe built right into the floor, and positioned to perform its desiredfunction.

Preferably, the surface 10, including the formation 14 and wall 12, iscomposed of a somewhat flexible water-resistant material, such asmoulded rubber, most preferably rubber sourced from recycled tires. Thisembodiment is preferred for a number of reasons. First, a mouldingprocess is efficient for manufacturing large numbers of surfaces 10relatively inexpensively. Second, the use of recycled tire rubber putssuch material to good use, thus reducing the need to dispose of usedtires. Third, a moulding process is effective in producing a surface 10wherein the formation 14 and wall 12 have a unitary (i.e. one-piece)construction. With such a construction, a mat or surface application 10can be produced in one moulding step, and the basic components of thesurface 10 (the formation 14 and wall 12) are easily usable andmanipulable—there is no need to deal with multiple pieces.

It will be appreciated, however, the surface 10 may be manufactured inany suitable way and still be comprehended by the invention. Forexample, the surface 10 may be made of plastic. The surface 10, whethermade of plastic or another material, may be made from material recycledfrom a pre-existing use or product. In addition, the surface 10 may bemoulded, or manufactured using a different process.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the surface 10 isconfigured so as to reduce the contact area between the surface 10 andany object resting thereon. It will be appreciated that, for many of thepossible uses of the surface 10, it is desirable for the liquid toremain in the surface 10, and not touch an object that comes in contactwith the surface 10. For example, if the surface 10 is used to catchwater and slush brought into vehicles by riders in the vehicles, it isdesirable that the skirts and pants of riders not get wet if they comein contact with the surface 10. As another example, the surface 10 maybe used to catch liquid spills from cars or trucks being repaired. Itwill be appreciated that oil, coolant fluid, brake fluids and the likefrom cars often undesirably stain surfaces, driveways, and other similarsurfaces. The surface 10 can be positioned under the car or truck duringrepair to control oil spills. In this application, it is also desirablethat oil not be transferred from the surface 10 to shoes, clothing, orcar tires.

For the most part, the liquid contacting the surface 10 will enter thewells 22 of the cells 16. However, some of the liquid will remain, in athin layer, on the contact area presented by the upper side of thesurface 10. Thus, to reduce the likelihood of transferring such liquidto an object coming in contact with the surface 10, the walls 18 arepreferably tapered towards their tops 26 so as to reduce the contactarea between the surface 10 and an object resting thereon. Mostpreferably, the walls 18 are tapered at their tops 26 substantially to apoint (i.e. a pointed edge as shown in FIG. 2). Thus, these points willconstitute the reduced contact area between the surface 10 and an objectresting thereon, in contrast to untapered walls.

In addition, such a tapered top edge of the cell wall permits any liquidwhich comes into contact with the water-resistant upper edge of the cellwall to quickly drain off the upper edge and into the wells below oneither side of the wall. In this way, even if the upper edge is wettedwith such a liquid in the beginning, the sloped drainage surface willcarry the liquid down away from the upper edge of the cell wall.

It will be appreciated that the tapered construction further providesgood structural integrity to the walls 18, because the walls 18 arethicker at their bases than at their tops. Thus, it has been found thata surface 10 with this configuration can carry substantial weightwithout the walls 18 being crushed or broken. Thus, for example, in thecar repair application, the tapered construction allows a car to driveon the surface 10 without crushing or deforming it, while the pointedtops 26 present a reduced contact area that prevents the car fromtracking substantial amounts of oil onto the ground with its wheels. Ofcourse, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that thestrength of the flexible material used in forming the surface 10 willhave a bearing on the load capacity of the cell wall 18. Further, thesize of the individual cells 16 will determine how much of any givenarea of the surface 10 is comprised of open wells 22 as compared to loadsupporting walls 18. Thus the size of the walls 18, the size of thecells 16 and the typical load being supported can be used, inconjunction with the strength of the material from which the surface 10is made, to determine the optimal dimensions for both the cell wallthickness and cell size.

It will be appreciated, however, that for some uses of the surface 10,reduction in contact area is less important, while other factors aremore important. For example, in one preferred application of the presentinvention, the surface 10 is used in a bathroom for gathering drippingliquid as a person steps out of a shower or bath. In such a case, theuser's bare feet will contact the surface 10. While preventing waterfrom contacting the user's feet is not particularly important in thiscase, because the user is already wet, it is preferred that the surface10 be comfortable against the user's feet, and that the surface have asufficient liquid retaining capacity to hold the liquid dripping off thebather.

FIGS. 1, 6, and 7 show a liquid controlling surface 10 having walls 18whose tops 26 are rounded, thus providing somewhat more comfort to thefeet of the user. In this configuration, the walls 18 are taperedtowards their tops 26 so as to reduce the contact between the surface 10and an object resting thereon. However, the walls 18 form non-pointedcontact areas. It will be appreciated that rounded tops 26 are lesslikely than pointed tops to dig uncomfortably into a user's foot.Further, since in this application of the invention it is desirable toretain the dripping water, the distribution channels can be set to ahigher level to permit more liquid to accumulate in each well. In thiscase the use of the channel at 80% of the total wall height might bepreferred.

In the embodiment of the surface 10 shown in FIG. 3, the walls 18 aretapered toward their tops 26 so as to reduce the contact area betweenthe surface 10 and an object resting thereon, but the tops 26 are notpointed. Rather, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, the tops 26 arenon-pointed, narrow, horizontal surfaces which form the contact areabetween the surface 10 and an object resting thereon. It will beappreciated that this configuration of the tops 26 would also be morecomfortable to the foot of the user than the pointed configuration.

FIGS. 4, 10, and 11 show a further embodiment of the surface 10. In theembodiment of FIGS. 4, 10, and 11, the cells 16 and walls 18 are sizedand shaped so as to provide contact areas that are generally circular inplan view. In other words, when viewed from above the surface 10, thecontact areas are generally circular. It will be appreciated that such aconfiguration, which provides a substantial flat contact area, is quitecomfortable for the foot of the user relative to a configuration wherethe tops 26 are pointed and provides a relatively large well volumebetween the contact areas.

Yet another embodiment of the surface 10 is shown in FIGS. 5, 13, and14. In this embodiment, the walls 18 and cells 16 are sized and shapedso as to provide contact areas that are generally octagonal in planview. Like the circular contact areas of FIG. 4, these octagonal contactareas provide a substantial flat contact area, which provides comfort tothe foot of a user.

FIG. 12 shows a variant of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4. Specifically,in the variant shown in FIG. 12, the contact areas are generallycircular in plan view, and are also convex, i.e., they are not flat, butthey bulge outward toward an object resting on the surface 10. It willbe appreciated that this configuration is particularly useful for showerand bath surfaces, because the convex contact areas can produce apleasant, massage-like feeling on the soles of a user's feet. As well,because the contact area bulges outward from the surface 10, liquid onthe contact surfaces is encouraged to drain towards adjacent cells.

It can now be appreciated how the surface 10 functions. The surface 10includes a plurality of cells 16, each of which has a well 22 forholding liquid. Each well 22 has a predetermined cell liquid levellimit, which, in the preferred embodiment, is the level above whichliquid will be channelled to adjacent cells 16. When a cell 16 reachesits limit, additional liquid is channelled to adjacent cells 16. Whenadjacent cells 16 reach their limit, liquid is channelled to otheradjacent cells 16. Thus, when a spill takes place on one portion of asurface 10, once the capacity of the cells 16 that initially receive thespill is exceeded, liquid is automatically channelled to adjacent cells16 by gravity, which will continue to distribute the liquid toadditional cells 16 if their well capacity is exceeded. Thus, as liquidis distributed progressively further from the point of origin of thespill, more and more cells 16 are brought into service to contain liquidfrom that spill. The number grows exponentially as liquid from the spillmoves outward from the spill's point of origin. The higher the number ofcells 16 in use to contain the spill, the less the amount of liquid thateach channel needs to distribute to adjacent cells. In other words,during and immediately after a spill at a particular point on thesurface 10, the one or more cells 16 at the point of origin of the spillwill channel a relatively high volume of liquid to adjacent cells.However, each cell on the surface 10 has adjacent cells, and each ofthese adjacent cells itself has adjacent cells, and so on. Thus, afterthe spill is complete, the liquid is distributed over a much wider areaof the surface 10 than the immediate spill area, with a large number ofcells 16 holding and distributing the liquid from the spill.

Thus, for example, it will be appreciated that if the surface 10 is on alevel surface, and all of the cells within the formation are filled upto the height of their respective distribution channels, any additionalliquid from a new or continued spill received in the formation would bedisseminated equally between all cells within the formation, regardlessof the distance from the location of the new or continued spill.

In addition, the shaping of the cells 16, walls 18, and tops 26 can bevaried to achieve particular results. In many uses, it is preferred tominimize the contact area between the surface 10 and an object restingthereon. The reason for this is that liquid left on the contact areamight be undesirably transferred to the object resting on the surface10. Thus, by giving the walls 18 a shape to minimize contact area, andto quickly drain such undesirable transfer of liquid can be minimized.This goal of reducing contact area may be achieved by walls 18 havingthe pointed tops 26. It is also achieved, to a lesser extent, by theshaping of the walls 18 and cells 26 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, forexample. For other uses, the transfer of liquids from the mat to anobject is less of a concern, but the comfort of a user is a greaterconcern. An example of such a use is when the surface 10 is beingemployed as a mat in a bathroom outside of a bath or shower. In such acase, the user's bare feet will be on the mat. As explained above, theshaping of walls 18 and tops 26 shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 5, and 12 willprovide greater comfort to a user's bare foot. In particular, thecontact area shown in FIG. 12, namely, a plurality of convex circularcontact areas, provides a comfortable and pleasant feeling to a user'sfoot.

In addition, it will be appreciated that the cells 16 and distributionchannels 24 are sized, shaped, and mutually positioned to reduce thelikelihood that an object resting on the surface 10 will come intocontact with liquid contained within the surface 10.

This is achieved without the complex two-layer construction shown inU.S. Pat. No. 5,776,583. In that construction, each cell constitutes abottom hollow portion which holds all of the liquid. Complex featuresare required to sustain this two-layer structure. By contrast, thesurface 10 disclosed herein distributes liquid from the point of originof a spill through distribution channels 24 sized, shaped, andpositioned to keep the liquid being distributed between cells 16 fromcoming in contact with an object resting on the surface 10.

It will be appreciated that the dimensions of the cells 16, walls 18,wells 22, channels 24, and tops 26 can be varied according to thecircumstances in which the surface 10 will be used. For example, incircumstances where spills are likely to happen quickly, withsubstantial amounts of liquid involved, it is better to have wells 22that are deeper, and distribution channels 24 having greater flowcapacities. The reason for this is that with quick, high volume spills,a low-capacity well and/or distribution channel may be overwhelmed bythe volume and speed of the spill, thus causing liquid to flood over thewalls 18, and possibly, over the perimeter wall 12, which isundesirable. The wells 22 and channels 24 need sufficient capacity tohandle spills that are likely to happen in the intended application, sothe surface 10 may control the spill and also, so the liquid will not beundesirably deposited on the tops 26 so as to come into contact withobjects resting on the surface 10. On the other hand, where individualspills are likely to contain low liquid volumes, or to be slow spills orleaks, it is preferable to have wells are that shallower. The reason isthat deeper, higher-capacity wells require a thicker surface 10. This inturn results in a surface that is heavier, and uses a larger amount ofmaterial. Unless this extra material is required, for example, for thereasons described above, it is preferable to use less material and incurless expense for materials, as well as to have a surface 10 that is aslightweight and easily manipulable as possible.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show a further embodiment of the invention. In thesurface 10 of FIGS. 15-16, a portion of a surface 10 is shown. Thesurface includes a perimeter wall 12, formation 14, and cells 16 asdescribed above. However, one section of the surface 10 within theperimeter wall 12 is reserved for a reservoir 28 having a removablecover 30. The top portion of the cover 30 presents a plurality ofreservoir drains 32, through which liquid travels through the cover 30to the reservoir 28. Contained within the reservoir 28 is an absorbentmaterial 38 (e.g. a sponge or desiccant body). Liquid can also enter thereservoir 28 from cells 16 adjacent thereto, travelling throughreservoir channels 36. The absorbent material 38 has absorbent materialchannels 38 which are positioned to line up with the reservoir channels36. Preferably, the absorbent material channels 38 do not extend throughthe entirety of the absorbent material 34. Rather, the absorbentmaterial channels 38 preferably function to direct liquid received fromadjacent cells 16 to a central portion of the absorbent material 34.

The cover 30 preferably rests in a cover recess 42 formed in theperimeter wall 12. This embodiment of the surface 10 further includes aselectively openable and selectively closeable gate drain 40, connectingthe reservoir 28 to the outside of the surface 10 through the perimeterwall 12. Most preferably, the drain takes the form of a sliding gatewhich can be actuated by the fingers of the user of the surface 10. Asanother possibility, a drain may be employed in the base of the surface,and act automatically, for a like purpose. Such a drain in the base ofthe surface may be positioned so as to drain liquid from the reservoir28.

It will be appreciated that the reservoir 28 is useful in situationswhere the surface is being used on an inclined surface. In suchsituations, liquid is much more likely to travel toward the lower end ofthe surface 10 and collect there. In situations where the incline issteep enough, the liquid may spill over the perimeter wall 12 at thelower end of the surface 10. The reservoir 28 is thus useful forcollecting such liquid and holding it within the reservoir 28,preferably in the absorbent material 38. Using the selectively openableand closeable reservoir drain 40, the liquid collected in the reservoir28 can be removed, and the absorbent material changed or squeezed outfor reuse.

It will be appreciated that the reservoir may take other forms besidesthat described above, and still be comprehended by the invention. Forexample, the reservoir 28 need not have a drain 40 as described: liquidcan be removed simply by pouring it out and/or squeezing the absorbentmaterial. Alternatively, a reservoir 28 may be employed without the useof absorbent material 34, if the liquid is not likely to enter thereservoir 28 at a high enough volume to require absorbent material 34.

In addition, the reservoir 28 may be used without reservoir drains 32.In some circumstances, it may be desirable for the reservoir to collectliquid only from adjacent cells 16. It will be appreciated, however,that, in the preferred embodiment, reservoir drains 32 are used so thatif liquid spills onto the cover 30, it will be collected by the surface10, and in particular, the reservoir 28. From these examples, it will beappreciated by those skilled in the art that a reservoir 28 may,depending on the circumstances, be employed without the specific otherfeatures described herein in association with the reservoir.

In some applications, it may be desirable to configure the surface 10 sothat liquid flows more toward one section of the mat and away fromanother. This can be achieved in a number of ways. For example, wells 22of cells 16 in one or more sections of the surface can be made shallowto cause liquid to flow away from these sections more quickly to liquidretaining sections of the surfaces whose cells 16 have deeper wells 22.As another example, the surface 10 may have a base whose thicknessvaries depending on the location on the surface. The result is that somecells to be higher than others, and causing liquid flow from the highercells 16 to the lower cells 16. One use of such a feature is to causeliquid to flow away from a portion of the surface 10 where an object islikely to contact the surface 10, thus providing further protectionagainst the possibility that liquid will be transferred from the surface10 to the object.

It will be appreciated that a drain can be fitted in the base of thesurface 10 to drain liquid from one or more of the cells 16, even inconfigurations lacking a reservoir 28. Such a drain can be useful inconfigurations, just described, in which liquid is encouraged to flowaway from certain portions of the surface and to others.

While the foregoing embodiments of the present invention has been setforth in considerable detail for the purposes of making a completedisclosure of the invention, it will be apparent for those skilled inthe art that various modifications can be made to the device withoutdeparting from the broad scope of the invention as defined in theattached claims. Some of these variations are discussed above and otherswill be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, a widevariety of different shapes for the walls 18 and tops 26 are possiblewithin the scope of the attached claims. As another example, the surface10, while preferably generally rectangular in plan view, can be anyconvenient shape. Similarly, the cells 16, while generally rectangularin plan view, can take other shapes (e.g. as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5).What is important is to provide a surface 10 for controlling liquids.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A liquid controlling surface, comprising: aformation comprising a plurality of individual open topped, closedbottomed cells for containing liquid, each of said cells having a cellwall integral with the closed bottom, and defining a well, each of saidcell walls having a top edge; a plurality of distribution channelsextending between adjacent cells and being positioned on the cell wallat a height to permit liquid to drain to the adjacent cell when a cellliquid level exceeds a predetermined limit and to permit liquid to beretained in said well up to said limit; and at least some of said cellwalls being sized and shaped to define contact areas at said top edgesand having sufficient rigidity to support an object above said limit,wherein said object is a foot of a person, or a wheel of a vehicle. 2.The liquid controlling surface as claimed in claim 1, wherein each ofsaid distribution channels is sized and shaped to inhibit said objectsupported by said contact areas from contacting liquid in the cells orthe distribution channels.
 3. The liquid controlling surface as claimedin claim 1, wherein the cell walls have average thicknesses sufficientto support said object on said contact areas, and wherein at least someof said cell walls taper upwardly to said contact areas so as to: a)reduce a surface area of said contact areas to help reduce liquidtransfer to said object supported thereon; or b) promote drainage ofliquids from said contact areas to help reduce liquid transfer to saidobject supported thereon.
 4. The liquid controlling surface as claimedin claim 3, where the cell walls taper upwardly substantially to a pointat said top edges.
 5. The liquid controlling surface as claimed in claim3, wherein the tapered cell walls have non-pointed top edges.
 6. Theliquid controlling surface as claimed in claim 1, wherein said contactareas are generally circular in plan view.
 7. The liquid controllingsurface as claimed in claim 1, wherein said contact areas are generallyoctagonal in plan view.
 8. The liquid controlling surface as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said contact areas bulge outward to encourage drainingof liquid from the contact areas to the cells.
 9. The liquid controllingsurface as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a perimeter wallsurrounding said cells, the perimeter wall having a height higher thansaid distribution channels to prevent liquid from leaking from saidcells to an area outside the perimeter wall.
 10. The liquid controllingsurface as claimed in claim 9, wherein the formation and perimeter wallcomprise rubber.
 11. The liquid controlling surface as claimed in claim10, wherein said rubber is recycled moulded rubber sourced from tires.12. The liquid controlling surface as claimed in claim 9, wherein theformation and perimeter wall comprise plastic.
 13. The liquidcontrolling surface as claimed in claim 12, wherein the plastic isrecycled plastic.
 14. The liquid controlling surface as claimed in claim9, wherein the formation and the perimeter wall are a unitaryconstruction.
 15. The liquid controlling surface as claimed in claim 9,wherein the surface further comprises at least one reservoir channel anda reservoir positioned adjacent said formation and configured to receiveliquid from the reservoir channels.
 16. The liquid controlling surfaceas claimed in claim 15, wherein said perimeter wall surrounds saidformation and reservoir.
 17. The liquid controlling surface as claimedin claim 15, wherein the surface further includes a drain positioned todrain liquid from the reservoir.
 18. The liquid controlling surface asclaimed in claim 15, wherein the reservoir contains an absorbentmaterial for absorbing liquid moving into the reservoir.
 19. The liquidcontrolling surface as claimed in claim 15, wherein the surface furthercomprises a removable reservoir cover.
 20. The liquid controllingsurface as claimed in claim 9, wherein said perimeter wall is free ofdistribution channels.
 21. The liquid controlling surface as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the distribution channels comprise arcuate depressionsextending across the cell walls.
 22. The liquid controlling surface asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the formation is generally rectangular inplan view.
 23. The liquid controlling surface as claimed in claim 1,wherein the cells are generally rectangular in plan view.
 24. The liquidcontrolling surface as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said cellscomprises a well for holding liquid, the distribution channels beingpositioned at a top of the well, the cell wall being sized and shaped tosurround the well.
 25. The liquid controlling surface as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the surface includes a drain positioned to drain liquidfrom one or more cells.
 26. The liquid controlling surface as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the surface comprises a liquid-flow-away section and aliquid retaining section, and wherein an average well depth in theliquid-flow-away section is less than an average well depth in theliquid retaining section to cause liquid to move from theliquid-flow-away section to the liquid retaining section.
 27. The liquidcontrolling surface as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surface comprisesa liquid-flow-away section and a liquid retaining section, and whereinan average cell height, above a floor, in the liquid-flow-away section,is greater than an average cell height, above the floor, in the liquidretaining section, to cause liquid to move from the liquid-flow-awaysection to the liquid retaining section.
 28. The liquid controllingsurface as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surface comprises a pluralityof surface modules connected together.
 29. The liquid controllingsurface as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surface is a ground covering.30. The liquid controlling surface as in claim 29, wherein said groundcovering is a mat.
 31. The liquid controlling surface as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the distribution channels comprise square depressionsextending across the cell walls.
 32. The liquid controlling surface asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the distribution channels comprise V-shapeddepressions extending across the cell walls.
 33. The liquid controllingsurface as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distribution channelscomprise holes extending through the cell wells.